There's no statement from either Brand's camp or the Clipper front office. Unlike Maggette, who doesn't have any natural suitors, Brand would seem likely to have a couple of serious bidders for his services on the block. Philadelphia is mentioned as a possible destination, and the Sixers are one of a couple of teams with serious money to spend.

The opt outs clear $24.8M from the Clippers overall number next season, leaving them well under the cap. The Clippers instantly become The Team With The Most Money to Spend. They could shower it on Elton or someone else.

...Brand's agent, David Falk, said the forward wants to see the Clippers sign a quality free agent and try to assemble a winning team in Los Angeles.

"It preserves options to make the team better," Falk said. "Clearly, if Elton decided he wanted to simply max out the dollars, he would have stayed in the deal, had a monster year and a lot more teams will have cap room next year."

Interesting. Falk is basically telling the Clippers that if they want to hang on to Elton, they're going to have go out and spend some money. It's a kindler, gentler Kobe Bryant game of chicken.

What inspired Brand's decision? The vibe in Boston:

Falk said a visit to Boston for Game 2 of the NBA Finals influenced Brand's decision to opt out.

"He watched what happened when a few stars get together and agree to have a communal effort," Falk said. "He said 'That's what I'd like to accomplish in my career.'"

What would satisfy Brand? You have to assume that the Clips would need to do a little better than Beno Udrih.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

Clippers won't re-sign Corey. They will use the extra money to sign a key component for the team, definitely a point guard. Elton opt out to see who they get. If doesn't like who they get, then he is out.

Ya know, some real balls would be to sign and trade Brand to Denver for Carmelo since he's on the outs there. From a ticket sales perspective we'd fill Staples, it would give Melo a major market hed probably enjoy, and it just might be the kind of fresh start the team needs to actually pursue greatness. If we move Brand, we need someone to build a franchise around. Very few of those types of peices are on the market, and almost none of them want to play for LAC even when they are.

I know its a longshot, but theres really no playbook for the team at this point so its just something to throw out there.

According to espn, Philly would probably start their offer at 11 million. which isn't as good as 16 million. Espn also claims that Brand is expected to resign with
the Clips , but will wait and see if they can add a good player. Then they proceeded to mention that the Clips could try to sign and trade Maggette for Baron Davis to convince EB to stay.

Worst case scenario. Based on the four options devised by Clipperblog above, I see Brand leaving. He's doing it the most politically way -- saying one thing, forcing a team who is not under the cap enough -- to do another -- when they options are futile.

Think about it. Why would Baron or Arenas come here now? Even for max money, there is no guarantee Brand will stay. Would you take that chance? He's not even actively recruiting the free agents. He's on the sideline doing his own thing. It's a great strategy because it makes him look good if Clips offer max money, even when he obviously isn't sticking around.